2011 Ch. Saint Pierre, St Julien

This is an old-style, classic St Julien built to last, with masses of structure and potential. The 65% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend accounts for its firm, curranty aroma as well as the crisp, fresh acidity on the palate. There is a real sense of density to the core of the wine, a lovely persistence on the finish and considerable class overall.

Once again, this château punches well above its weight. This is no longer the hidden gem of St Julien as the five previous vintages have propelled this wine to the forefront of the appellation. For me it is up there with Léoville-Barton and Gruaud-Larose and very often outperforms them. Black jammy fruits abound on the nose, with some sweetness and intensity. Lovely, intense black berries coat the palate with lots of focus and intensity. A very generous yet very well balanced wine and a very long finishMax Lalondrelle, Berrys' Fine Wine Buying Director

Prices:

In Bond

Please note:

Wines sold "In Bond" (including BBX) or “En Primeur” are not available for immediate delivery and storage charges may apply.

Scores and Reviews

DECANTER - Very good floral but firm fruit-- a very good expression of Saint-Julien from a château that is on top form.Decanter – Bordeaux 2011 coverage – April 2012

PARKER - This 2011 boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as copious notes of creme de cassis, incense, lead pencil shavings and perhaps a hint of truffles. Medium to full-bodied with surprising density, impressive purity, decent acidity and serious length, this St.-Julien should easily last for two decades or more.

While the 2011 Saint-Pierre will not make anyone forget the 2009 or 2010, it is an outstanding effort. Yields were somewhat higher than at other estates (42 hectoliters per hectare), and the final blend includes a whopping 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc that came in at 13% natural alcohol. Proprietor Jean-Louis Triaud has been on a qualitative tear with this estate as well as with his much larger property, Gloria.Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - April 2012

You may also like

The Producer

Château Saint-Pierre is the smallest and least well-known of the St-Julien crus. Ch. Saint-Pierre is a property with a long and complicated history. The estate was founded in the 17th Century, and classified a 4th Growth in the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux. Carved up over the years by family disputes, the Château was eventually bought in 1982 by Henri Martin, the son of a Bordeaux cooper. Henri already owned the Cru Bourgeois Ch. Gloria, but to own a Cru Classé was his lifetime ambition and he invested all his soul and a considerable amount of money into resurrecting this great property.

Today the property sits at the top of the 4ème Cru Classé, and is quietly becoming that rare thing in Bordeaux, a truly undervalued wine. The lovely Château is found in the heart of St. Julien, in the village of Beychevelle. Bordered by Gruaud Larose to the west and Ducru-Beaucaillou to the east, the vineyards are wonderfully located on deep gravel soils – the ideal terroir for the Cabernet grape.

Stylistically as well as geographically, the wines of St. Julien fall between those of Pauillac and Margaux. Saint-Pierre itself often displays a wonderfully fragrant, Margaux-like nose, allied to a dense, cassis laden palate more akin to Pauillac.

Saint-Pierre has only 17 hectares of vineyards and the wine is typically a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. It is aged in oak barrels (50% new) for 18 months.

Other wines by this producer:

The Grape

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc,Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.

The Region

St Julien is the smallest of the "Big Four" Médoc communes. Although, without any First Growths, St Julien is recognised to be the most consistent of the main communes, with several châteaux turning out impressive wines year after year.

St Julien itself is much more of a village than Pauillac and almost all of the notable properties lie to its south. Its most northerly château is Ch. Léoville Las Cases (whose vineyards actually adjoin those of Latour in Pauillac) but, further south, suitable vineyard land gives way to arable farming and livestock until the Margaux appellation is reached.

The soil is gravelly and finer than that of Pauillac, and without the iron content which gives Pauillac its stature. The homogeneous soils in the vineyards (which extend over a relatively small area of just over 700 hectares) give the commune a unified character.

The wines can be assessed as much by texture as flavour, and there is a sleek, wholesome character to the best. Elegance, harmony and perfect balance and weight, with hints of cassis and cedar, are what epitomise classic St Julien wines. At their very best they combine Margaux’s elegance and refinement with Pauillac’s power and substance.

Ch. Léoville Las Cases produces arguably the most sought-after St Julien, and in any reassessment of the 1855 Classification it would almost certainly warrant being elevated to First Growth status.